The research was based on an idiographic analysis focused on the results obtained for the specific people under examination.
The results revealed the relationships between the distanced and omnipotent Internet usage styles and the accepting attitude toward globalization; between the frustrated style and the critical attitude; and between the ambivalent style and the fearful attitude toward globalization. The ensuing discussion can be used to increase Internet user awareness that it is necessary to look for a strategy for coping with the challenges posed by the Internet that is best adjusted to a particular individual. The competence in choosing such an appropriate strategy is a valuable asset for any contemporary manager who would like to target his or her offer at a variety of customers representing different Internet usage styles.

Executive function deficits, hyperactivity-impulsivity, and inattention can have a negative impact on a child’s self-efficacy beliefs. Forty-eight children with high intensity ADHD symptoms and 56 children with low intensity symptoms in ages 8 to 10 years completed the Self-Efficacy Scale for Children and executive function tests. Rating Scales for Teachers and Parents were completed for each child to measure the ADHD symptoms. ADHD symptoms and executive function deficits were associated with lower self-efficacy beliefs especially in two spheres: academic achievement and self-control. Implications of these findings for child therapy are discussed.

My paper describes a Polish adaptation of the family assessment tool called FACES IV. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of the model to the data with a sample of 499 Polish individuals from 150 families. The reliability measures of the two Balanced scales are similar to those of the American scales. However, the four Unbalanced scales have lower reliability. Reliability measures of Family Satisfaction and Family Communication are even higher than the American ones. A cluster analysis clearly depicted the extreme profiles of the Balanced and Unbalanced scales, with the remaining four profiles also present. Norms were developed for the various scales. Psychometric verification of this instrument showed that FACES IV-SOR is useful for research and clinical work with Polish families.

My article investigated the drivers of shopping mall attractiveness. Which of various shopping mall qualities are key to building a mall’s attractiveness? This was the fundamental question in the cross- sectional, survey-based correlational study. The participants included 384 adult Poles (192 men and 192 women whose median age was 22). The survey included 58 items – nine to measure the shopping mall’s attractiveness (its emotional impact, cognitive effect and the customer’s visiting frequency), and 49 to measure its hypothetical predictors. The investigated objects were six urban shopping malls in Wroclaw, Poland. It turned out that shopping mall attractiveness was driven mainly by their atmosphere and social positioning. Surprisingly, the more subjectively noisy and crowded the shopping mall was, the more attractive it appeared to be; commerce-related features, on the other hand, while usually treated as vital to a shopping center, contributed relatively little to the mall’s attractiveness.

Objective: Studies concerning the importance of spirituality on the negative and positive effects of traumatic experiences are very rare. Our study attempts to determine the role of spirituality in post- traumatic stress disorders, approached as a negative result of facing traumatic events, and profiting from such experiences in the form of posttraumatic growth.Method: The study covered 116 emergency service workers (only men), including 43 firefighters (37.1%), 43 police officers (37.1%) and 30 paramedics (25.8%), who experienced a traumatic event in their line of work. Those surveyed were between 21 and 57 years of age (M = 35.28; SD = 8.13). The Impact of Event Scale was used to assess the negative effects of traumatic experience, and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for assessing the positive effects. Spirituality was measured using the Self- description Questionnaire.Results: 61.2% of the workers displayed at least moderate symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, whereas 38.8% displayed low intensity symptoms. Taking into consideration the positive effects of experienced traumatic events, it was discovered that almost 40% of those surveyed displayed low levels of posttraumatic growth, 34.5% average and 25.8% high. Correlation analysis was been per- formed to establish the relation between spirituality and posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth. Posttraumatic growth predictors were determined.Conclusions: Study results show that spirituality is not related to the intensification of posttraumatic stress symptoms, whereas it contributes to positive posttraumatic changes. Among different aspects of spirituality, harmony plays a major role.

Our article describes and illustrates a procedure for isolating a hidden story from a monologue on an assigned topic. The procedure involves four stages: 1) collecting data and preparing transcripts; 2) identifying out-of-key elements; 3) analysing and interpreting a text by means of linguistic and literary theory devices; 4) formulating a hidden story. In deducing a hidden story from narratively out-of-key elements, the vital part was identifying the rules of speech and analysing the contexts in which they were used in the monologue. The hidden story was reconstructed as a one-level narrative pattern on the basis of information inferred from different contexts of using speech rules, as well as from information explicit in the monologue. Our article also discusses the theoretical and clinical value, and new trends in the research on hidden stories.

Numerous studies demonstrate that, regardless of the adulthood stage, sexual satisfaction is crucial to the general opinion on life quality. The models of sexual satisfaction presented in the subject literature display underlying differences in its determinants between men and women; little, however, is said about potential variations, which can occur at different stages in an adult’s life. The results presented in our article are extensively researched fragments regarding the psycho-social determinants of sexual satisfaction, conducted on 90 women and 77 men, aged 21−72.

Our study attempted to determine the extent to which age affects:

The sexual satisfaction level in women and men,

The relationship between psycho-physical attractiveness, close relationship satisfaction, and intensification of sexual practices; with the level of sexual satisfaction for both women and men.
The assessment was based on original questionnaires as well as on the Intimacy, Passion and Commitment Questionnaires by Acker and Davis.
Neither age nor gender influenced the sexual satisfaction level. However, they both affected the relationship between sexual satisfaction and psychosocial variables.

Our study examines the relation between explicit and implicit attitudes toward academic cheating and the frequency of committing it among students of different faculties (pedagogy and psychology, and law and administration). The implicit attitudes were measured using two methods – the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP). As hypothesized, the explicit attitude toward academic cheating was positively related to the its frequency. Results indicate that the implicit measures did not predict the frequency of self-reported academic cheating behaviours. The field of study itself was not a differentiating factor for any studied variables. The methodological problems related with using IAT and IRAP as measures of implicit attitudes toward cheating and the study’s possible limitations were discussed.

Our study explores the role of order effects when making attributions of ability of a performer in team handball. Participants of the study were asked to view a video footage of a handball player performing a passing and throwing task ten times. Although for everyone the footage consisted of the same ten clips, half the participants viewed a declining (successful to unsuccessful) performance pattern, whereas the other half viewed an ascending pattern. After that, participants rated the observed player’s sporting abilities. The results have shown recency effects in the attributions of ability when the judgment was made by players (for most descriptors) and by coaches (for some descriptors).

There have been increasing calls in environmental psychology for the standardized instruments measuring people’s subjective perception of urban environment quality. One such tool is a commonly accepted and oftcited questionnaire for measuring perceived urban environmental quality, the Perceived Residential Environment Quality & Neighborhood Attachment (PREQ & NA) Indicators, developed by a team of Italian researchers: FerdinandoFornara, Marino Bonaiuto, and MiriliaBonnes. This article presents the results of the PREQ & NA’s adaptation study that we conducted in Poland. The adaptation project was divided into several qualitative and quantitative stages spanning April 2013 to December 2014. A total of 200 participants were examined, 99 women and 101 men aged between 18 and 89. We cooperated with six English and Italian translators. The results of our study demonstrated a factorial validity of the tool’s Polish language version relative to both the Italian original and its recent Iranian adaptation, which we used for comparisons with the data obtained in a non-European cultural area. In addition to describing the entire adaptation procedure and presenting its results, we propose that a number of minor but necessary modifications be made in the Polish version, as indicated by our analyses. Following a positive verification and discussion of the Polish adaptation’s convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity, we propose the final Polish version of the adapted questionnaire.

Leadership styles of coaches affect athletes’ sport and social skills. Recently, transformational leader- ship gained recognition as a benecial, motivational and inspirational coaching style. Our study attempts to extend the understanding of transformational leadership in Polish youth sport through investigation of whether a transformational coach can lead a team effectively, while simultaneously contributing to athletes’ well-being and high performance. A male volleyball coach and twelve male volleyball players (15‒16 years old) participated in a study consisting of semi-structured interviews and participant observations. The results showed that characteristics of a transformational coach had an infuence on athletes’ intrinsic motivation and involvement in training, and they served as means of satisfying the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Our thesis explores the experience of corporeality by women who practice aikido. The categories used by those women to describe their body self and its functions were analyzed. In order to explore the subject, quality research was implemented in the framework of grounded theory. Five women comprised the research group, all of whom had been practicing Birankai Aikido for nine or more years. Semi-structured interviews were carried out. Each interview contained five areas referring to practicing aikido, corporality, behavior and the connection between practicing aikido and corporality. Three areas emerged referring to the corporality construct, namely the body, emotions, and interpersonal contacts. The elds of the body and emotions were dominated by a functional dimension, whereas in the eld of interpersonal contacts we noted a particularly strong feeling of group afliation. Participants also displayed a strong need for self-realization, self-control, and persistence. The data collected give sufcient grounds for arguing that women who practice aikido on a regular basis tend to focus on the functional aspects of their bodies and emotions. In so doing they seem to motivate themselves to achieving greater self-realization in the process of studying martial arts.

A number of research projects have shown that both religiousness and quality of the marital relationship are important resources that can be used by parents rearing children diagnosed with autism. Our article brings up the link between religiousness of parents who have children with autism and the quality of their marriage. Fifty-three married couples (106 persons) living in Poland and bringing up children diagnosed as having autism were surveyed. Results obtained indicate that there is a relationship between parents’ religiousness (personal religiousness) and their marriage quality. These results can help family therapists, social workers and priests supporting couples parenting children with autism.

The profession of a physical therapist is among so-called social professions, which are particularly exposed to high risks of burnout. Our paper analyzes the relationships between professional burnout in physical therapists and their perceived levels of stress, the strategies they use to cope with stress, as well as their levels of empathy and professional satisfaction. The following questionnaires were used in the study: the Burnout Scale Inventory (Okła & Steuden, 1998); the multidimensional coping inventory COPE (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989); and the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy (Mehrabian & Epstein, 1972). Varying levels of professional burnout were observed in a sample of 76 physical therapists, who demonstrated no significant relationships between burnout and empathy levels. Higher burnout levels were found in participants working in public compared to privately-owned health centers, while those scoring higher on job satisfaction also had lower burnout results. Further, participants with higher professional burnout also reported higher levels of stress at the workplace and at home, as well as using avoidance coping strategies. The results of our study call for further investigation into the determinants of burnout in physical therapists and for implementing preventive measures.

Bronchial asthma is the most frequent chronic pulmonary disorder in the world. Population studies indicate about 10% of children in Poland suffer from it. Nowadays, the illness is mild and rarely severe due to specialized treatment. Regardless of how the illness develops, recurring asthma attacks can cause a person suffering from it to feel stigmatized, and result in tension and stress. When under stress, a sick person activates their own characteristic coping strategies, which help them to reduce discomfort. Our paper analyzes both the anxiety intensity levels experienced by children suffering from bronchial asthma and how they cope. Seventy-one children diagnosed with chronic respiratory condition, aged 12–15, were examined during their sanatorium treatment, using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) by Spielberger, adapted by Sosnowski, Iwaniszczuk, and Spielberger, and the JakSobieRadzisz? (How Are You Coping? – HAYC) Scale by Juczyński and Ogińska-Bulik. Thirty-eight per cent of the examined children had a high anxiety level, and 33% were diagnosed with a high anxiety-as-a-trait level. The results show significant differences between boys and girls on the anxiety trait scale, focusing on emotions strategy and seeking social support strategy. Girls have higher results on the above-mentioned scales. It was observed in the whole group of examined children that there is a statistically sig- ni cant positive interrelationship between anxiety-trait results and focusing-on-emotions strategy in a dispositional stress-coping style. It is recommended to include psychotherapeutic assistance for children in standard bronchial asthma treatment.

Successful aging (Rowe & Kahn, 1997) is conditioned by aspiration to be active and by the ability to maintain social relations. Activity improves the emotional lives of seniors and is associated with a reduction of some symptoms of aging. Our study verifies if the number of activities (informal and solitary) is associated with quality of life and whether subjective age may be a mediator of this relationship. The 136 seniors above 60 were tested by our authorial scale of activity and the WHOQOL-BRIEF. The results showed that older persons’ higher quality of life levels are related not only to the number of activities undertaken, but also to the frequency that these activities are engaged in. The mediating role of subjective age in relation to one’s activities and quality of life was also indicated, which, concerning general quality of life, turned out to be a cooperative suppression.

Our study evaluated the residential environment quality among residents of both traditional open communities and gated communities (fenced), with the latter becoming increasingly popular in Poland. For this purpose the Perceived Evaluation of Residential Environment Quality and Place Attachment Questionnaire (Dębek, Janda-Dębek, 2015) was used, which is a Polish adaptation of Abbreviated Perceived Residential Environment Quality & Neighborhood Attachment Indicators (APREQ & NA, Bonaiuto, Bonnes, Fornara, 2010). Sixty residents of two Wrocław communities (open and gated) were examined. Our study revealed that residents of the open community evaluate their residential environment better and they are more attached to it than residents of the gated community.

Our study attempts to assess the validity of a modication of the Luyckx, Schwartz, Berzonsky, Soenens, Vansteenkiste, Smits and Goossens’ dual-cycle model of identity formation (2008). The model has been extended to include a six dimensions because it takes two types of ruminative exploration into account. Thus, the model consists of reflective exploration in breadth, ruminative exploration in breadth and commitment making, which form a commitment formation cycle, and reflectiveexploration in depth, ruminative exploration in depth and identication with commitment, which in turn form a commitment evaluation cycle. Six hundred and forty-two Caucasian Poles (including 51 early adolescents, 270 late adolescents, 272 emerging adults and 49 young adults; 66% women) participated in our study. Conrmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis between identity dimensions indicate that the proposed model has a satisfactory internal validity. Analysis of variance in groups with different educational-professional contexts and ages, as well as correlation analysis of the identity dimensions with adjustment indicators, and ruminative and reflective self-consciousness show a satisfactory external validity. In summary, the proposed modication may present an alternative to the original model, but its limitations will also be discussed.

Our paper analyses sources of job satisfaction. A cross-sectional study in two variants: an online questionnaire (n=642) and its paper version (n=635), were used to measure the impact of core self-evaluations, hedonism and eudaimonism on job satisfaction. To strengthen the dependent variable (job satisfaction) measurement, two sources for this data were used: the target person’s self-assessment and his or her significant other’s evaluation. The results show that the significant other’s assessment can be a valuable source of information on the target person’s job satisfaction. On top of that, hierarchical regression has shown that both happiness philosophies: eudaimonism and hedonism have predictive power over the assessment of job satisfaction based on core self-evaluations.

Shopping malls and shopping streets are environments frequented by millions of people daily. Malls are purposively built and strictly managed, whereas streets are evolving more spontaneously. Are these different but popular retail environments, out there to meet human needs, a like t for all of us? Do all of us perceive them in the same way? Do we all feel just as good in them? Use them just as often and enthusiastically? We have set our research in a theoretical frame using one of the key concepts – describing the person-environment fit (P-EF) understood as a mental state giving rise to subsequent positive or negative states or behaviors. We assumed that the possible correlates of P-EF would be the person’s personality, temperament, and their system of values. Our cross-sectional correlational study involved 122 people aged 18 to 40. We found the match with retail environments to be influenced by subject traits, among them: consumption style, social affiliation need and openness to experience. Interestingly, it also turned out that the t with retail environments is but ambiguously connected with hedonism co-variance, and that shopping streets can make for a t no worse than malls.

Our article presents work on the development and validation of Influence Regulation and Deinfluentization Scale (DEI-beh). Reviewing concepts regarding its influence constitutes an introduction to the original deinfluentization concept coined by Barbara Kożusznik. The author’s theory has provided the basis for creating a diagnostic tool. The elaborated DEI-behmethod consists in evaluating conditions which determine managerial effectiveness and shape reciprocal influences among team members. Our article describes this tool’s creation and its validation procedure. Positive relationships between DEI- beh’s individual dimensions and temperament characteristics, defined in Pavlov’s concept (1952), and selected personality traits, proposed in the Five-Factor Model Personality by Costa and McCrae (1992), confirm the tool’s external validity.

Our study tests the relationships between the anorexia readiness syndrome (ARS) and the sense of body boundaries as well as sensitivity to breaches of self boundaries. Conducted among 120 young females aged 18–24, the study was based on three questionnaires: the Eating Attitudes Questionnaire, the Sense of Body Boundaries Questionnaire, and the Self Boundaries Sensitivity Scale. Two groups were used for comparative analyses, each consisting of 30 participants with either high or low ARS intensity. The results showed high-ARS intensity individuals to have a weaker body boundary sense, a weaker sense of being separate from the environment, and a stronger sense of their bodies’ permeability boundaries, as well as being overly-sensitive to breaches in their social self boundaries. The groups showed no significant differences with respect to sensitivity to breaches in their bodily and spatial-symbolic selves.

My paper presents the results of a research study on the relationship between existential/spiritual resources, that is, spiritual sensitivity (a disposition to experience spirituality, manifested in the embracement of the nature of things in the transcendent and final perspective, in moral sensitivity, and the ability to find meaning in paradoxical and limiting situations), spiritual sensitivity components and subjective quality of life (a generalized attitude to one’s own life mode, in the four existential dimensions: psycho- physical, psycho-social, subjective, and metaphysical). Study subjects were older adults (60+, n = 522) living in the current, dynamic, uncertain and fluid modern world conditions. The study had two phases – quantitative and qualitative (narrative interviews). To measure the phenomena, the Spiritual Sensitivity Inventory (Straś-Romanowska, Kowal, & Kapała, 2013) and the Quality of Life Questionnaire (Straś-Romanowska, Oleszkowicz, & Frąckowiak, 2004) were used. The results obtained confirmed a strong mutual relationship between spiritual resources and quality of life, also providing an answer to some questions about the nature of spiritual sensitivity, and its integrating, pro-development and pro- health role in the elderly adults’ life in the post-modern era.

Year: 2014

A study of 41 patients was conducted in order to provide an empirical basis for cooperation between a psychologist and a support group of patients with endometriosis. Our aim was to identify psychological variables which have a connection with the disease’s acceptance. The patients’ ages and duration of their illness were taken into account. We demonstrated that there is a positive relationship in accepting the illness through: perceived control and the ability to reduce pain, a declared ability to cope, a sense of harmony with one’s body, and disclosure of negative emotions - mostly anger and sadness. A significantly negative association was shown for: the disease’s duration, coping style with stress concentrating on the emotions, alienation from the body, and “catastrophizing”. Preference for the form of psychological support was also studied. Most preferred were: physician communication training, and individual consultations with a psychologist.

The general aim of our study was to verify the corporality relationships between mothers and daughters within the family context. One hundred and thirty women participated in the research (65 mother- daughter couples), with the following methods being used: Body-Self Questionnaire (Olga Sakson-Obada, 2009); Polish adaptation of FACES-IV (Margasiński, 2009); pictorial scale measuring perception of closeness in self – body and mother – daughter relationships (Aron, Aron & Smollan, 1992). We found that family systems with problems are facilitated by disorders of body-self strength in both mothers and daughters. Mothers who have difficulties with physical states regulating co-established problematic family systems, and daughters who come from a family perceived by them as en- meshed will tend to develop disorders with body-self strength. Women dissatisfied with their bodies perceive them as more detached from themselves. The discussion touches upon an analysis of body- self in mothers who create problematic family systems and in daughters coming from families perceived by themselves as disordered. Also factors that foster the development of strong body-self have been pointed out.

This study investigates the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) technology in distracting attention from pain. We tested how body engagement related to navigating the virtual environment (VE) influences the intensity of pain. Two different interfaces were used to play the same VE, and a cold pressor test was used for pain stimulation. A mixed design was used for the experiment. Sixty-six under- graduate students participated. One group navigated the game using a rotation sensor, head tracker and foot pedals (Body Movement Interface). Another group navigated only using their hands (Hand Movement Interface). Objective and subjective measures of pain were collected – the amount of time participants kept their hand in a container with cold water, and the participant’s assessment of the pain intensity on a visual analog scale (VAS). Participants also filled in questionnaires designed to measure feelings of presence in VE and emotional attitudes towards the game. We found no significant difference between the two used interfaces in their analgesic efficacy. In both groups during VR distraction, participants showed significantly higher levels of pain endurance than without VR distraction.

At the time of this work I had been concentrating on how the family gave shape to adolescent person- alities and how adolescents would, as a consequence, accept themselves.The purpose of this present study is to determine the differences in personality range and levels of self-acceptance among groups of women and men from complete, incomplete and reconstructed families. The study included a group of 314 adolescents, from the administrative region of Lódź. The following test methods were used: the Survey and standardised Inventory of Personality NEO - FFI by P.T. Costa and R. McCrae as adapted by B. Zawadzki, J. Strelau, P. Szczepaniak and M. Śliwińska; and the Scale of Interpersonal Attitude (SUI) as adapted by J. M. Stanik.

As a result of statistical analyses, it turned out that the dimension of personality the Openness to Experience had indeed diversified the examined adolescent groups. Statistically significant differences were also observed at the self-acceptance level between the study groups.

The study investigates the psychological and moral acceptance of cheating and plagiarism among university students in Poland. A sample of 285 students participated. Results demonstrate that the locus of control, justice sensitivity, and some individual ethical philosophical dimensions are significant predictors for accepting dishonest behaviour. My research results support the basic theoretical arguments that point out the role of acceptable individual conditions for cheating and plagiarism. The re- search offers implications for the practice of moral awareness and for some possible training for university students.

Our article presents a comprehensive overview of studies on colour from the perspective of applied psychology and social sciences. It discusses major findings from the psychology of colour applied to marketing, business, politics and sports as well as to problems connected with using color tests in psychological diagnoses. Moreover, we present an overview of particularly interesting colour studies on synaesthesia related to cognitive and applied psychology as well as psycholinguistics. Finally, we discuss the most recent trends in investigations into applied colour psychology as well as potential directions for further research.

The Sociopolitical Control Scale (SPCS) measures psychological empowerment at the intrapersonal level. It comprises two subscales – leadership competence (LC) and policy control (PC). Adapting SPCS to Polish cultural conditions required measuring the translation, checking comprehension of items and establishing reliability and validity. Reliability and convergent validity are sufficient enough for this measure to be used in psychological research. Confirmatory Factor Analysis lets us assume that SPCS is an appropriate measure, and the Polish scale factorial structure resembles the factorial structure of the original version. Since Poland is a socio-demographically homogeneous country, our research is significant for cross-cultural comparisons, despite a non-representative sample (n = 469). The Polish version of SPCS was developed to be used in research on the social involvement of a political, religious and humanitarian nature.

The study was undertaken to identify intergenerational transmission in the patterns of early adulthood developmental tasks, with particular emphasis on parenthood. We attempted to explain how intergenerational values are transmitted to young adults when they become parents and how they realize those parental values that are expected of them. The study was performed on 109 three-generation families, N=407 persons. The results illustrated the diversity of intergenerational transmission, depending on a certain cohort’s sex and membership. Women were found to be more susceptible to transmitting family models.

Our research aim was to answer whether temperament traits could predict the anxiety experienced by osteoarthritis patients before and after arthroplasty; we analyzed if coping styles moderated the relationship between temperament and perioperative anxiety, and examined the fluctuation of perceived stress and anxiety.

In the longitudinal study (N=61, mean age 70.9) we measured temperament traits (EAS-A), coping styles (Brief-COPE) and changes of perceived anxiety (STAI) and stress (PSS-10), before and after arthroplasty.
Anxiety and stress decreased significantly after the surgery. Temperament correlated with the anxiety state. Positive correlates were anger, negative affectivity, and fear while negative correlates included sociability and vigor. Regression analyses indicated the predictors of preoperative anxiety which included vigor and negative affectivity. The regression model for the variation of postsurgical anxiety indicated that negative affectivity explained the variance of this variable (R2=0.57). Moderation analyses confirmed that the temperament and anxiety relationship depended on: active coping, acceptance and planning.

The purpose of this review was to come closer to answering the question why insight gained in psychotherapy does not necessarily lead to a change in patient’s behaviour. The review of literature on the subject of insight allowed us to distinguish two types of insight: “more intellectual than emotional” (I-e) and “more emotional than intellectual” (E-i). In addition, we differentiated E-i insight with a component of negative emotions (aversive) and with a component of positive emotions (corrective). We assumed that each type of insight would motivate the patient to change their behaviour in a different way. The I-e insight makes it easier for the patient to achieve concrete adaptive goals, the E-i aversive insight discourages them from attaining maladaptive goals, while the E-i corrective insight encourages them to form and follow adaptive goals. We also analysed the influence on behaviour change of some other factors, co-occurring with insight: the therapeutic relationship, the actions of the patient and his narrative motivation. Insight does not always lead to a change in behaviour because: 1) the type of the insight does not match the type of patient’s motivation; 2) insight occurs in the con- text of a weak therapeutic relationship or is not reinforced by the patient’s actions; 3) insight is not a key factor of change, but rather its effect or indicator.

The main goals of this study are 1) to explore whether internal relationship patterns are related to personality organization, and 2) to recognize the role that selected relationship patterns play in diagnosing personality organization levels. Internal relationship patterns were assessed according to the core conflictual relationship theme (CCRT) – about wishes (WS), responses from others (RO), and responses of the self (RS) – as identified from participants’ self-narratives about important relationships. Significant differences in the frequencies of patterns were found among participants with borderline personality organization (BPO), neurotic personality organization (NPO), and integrated personality (IPO). For example, the majority of negative RS responses were detected in the BPO sample. The study supports the thesis that relationship patterns might be related to personality organization, and that object representation complexity may be a good predictor of integrated personality organization.

This study investigates the role that temperament and resiliency play in posttraumatic growth among people who have experienced the death of someone close. Seventy-four participants completed a series of questionnaires measuring posttraumatic growth, using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, resiliency by the Resiliency Assessment Scale, and temperamental traits using the Formal Characteristics of Behaviour – Temperament Inventory. The respondents’ ages ranged from 21 to 74 years (M=38.4; SD=15.5), with 63.5% being women. Most participants had lost a parent – 37.8%. Results reveal that increased appreciation for life and improved relations with others are the most prevalent areas of posttraumatic growth.

Findings suggest that posttraumatic growth is more likely to be determined by resiliency defined as skills gained from coping with various difficult events rather than biologically determined tempera- mental traits.

Our paper reviews research studies that have investigated interventions aimed at prejudice reduction. The theories and research results are summarized in the following categories: intergroup contact, social identity, and categorization. The intergroup contact approach inspired such techniques as contact hypothesis, jigsaw classroom, Pettigrew’s model, contact with transgression, and imagined intergroup contact hypothesis; while social identity gave the ground for common ingroup identity and crossed categorization theories. We place special emphasis on methods applicable for a school setting, and try to answer the questions: when, why and under which condition will a given method work.

Our article deals with the problem of ‘nestlings’ – young adults who postpone the moment of entering adulthood. A brief review of data and research results indicates that delays in undertaking developmental tasks typical of adulthood refer to a professional job, starting a family or a relationship, and gaining independence (not only financially). We discuss cultural, economic and psychological contexts of nestling, and attempt to answer the question whether waiting for adulthood is a global problem or a problem specific to only certain countries or just to Poland. It seems necessary to undertake research on this phenomenon. Nestling ought to be explored not only from the adult child’ perspective but from the parental perspective as well.

The Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) is a measure which allows one to assess children’s self-concept. Our article presents this instrument’s psychometric properties within a Polish sample. In our study we tested 432 elementary school students and 14 form teachers. As validity indicators we used the Teacher’s Rating Scale of Child’s Actual Behavior (TRS) and the average school grade for the previous semester. The Polish version of SPPC yielded good psychometric properties. The instrument’s factorial structure paralleled the structure of the original version. Reliability was high both in terms of internal consistency and test-retest results. Scale validity was confirmed in the correlational analysis. Boys scored higher than girls in the Physical Appearance and Global Self-Worth subscales but lower in the Behavioral Conduct subscale. Younger children scored higher than older children in the Scholastic Competence, Physical Appearance, and Global Self-Worth subscales. Judgments on children’s physical appearance were the best predictor of their global self-worth.

The Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire was designed to measure sexual satisfaction. It consists of 10 items. The results of several studies have supported the Questionnaire as psychometrically sound and valid. It may be a valuable tool for measuring one’s attitude (both cognitively and emotionally) to their own sexual activity.

This study examines whether social support perceived from different sources can significantly predict behavioral problems in children from alcoholic families. Participants are composed of 540 children in three age groups. We use the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale and Youth Self Report/YSR 11-18. Our finding was that children of alcoholics have a greater risk of externalizing symptoms in comparison to children of non-alcoholics. Social support significantly predicts behaviour problems in the different life periods. In alcoholic families it was observed that mother, teacher and peer support negatively correlated with externalizing problems in the different developmental periods. Regression Analysis showed that the important predictors for externalizing such problems are low levels of support from teachers (in middle childhood and late adolescence), peers (in middle childhood) and mothers (in early adolescence). Our concluding remark is that social support perceived by children of alcoholics differs from the support perceived by children from control groups. This is important for prevention and therapy.

key words: children of alcoholics, behavior problems, social support sources

Taking care of a paraplegic may contribute to the caregiver’s fatigue. Sixty family caregivers participated in our study, out of which 30 provided care for paraplegics in hospital, and 30 for paraplegics at home. The Orientation to Life Qestionnaire (SOC-29) was used to measure individual sense of coherence, The Life Orientation Test – Revised for dispositional optimism, The Polish Resiliency Assessment Scale for resiliency, and The Daily Life Fatigue Questionnaire for daily life fatigue. In order to collect data about caregivers an individual examination was applied. People with higher personal re- source levels such as sense of coherence, optimism and resiliency are characterized by less severe daily life fatigue.

Virtual Reality (VR) technology can be applied during pain treatment, acting as an effective distractor from pain stimuli. In our paper we investigate how memory influences experienced intensity of thermal pain stimuli. An experiment (within subject design) was conducted on 35 students from various Wroclaw universities. A cold pressor test was used for pain stimulation. Participants were immersed in customized virtual environments, created for this particular study. The environments differed at the level of memory engagement while playing a game. Pain measures were determined by the length of time participants kept their hands in cold water (pain tolerance), and their pain rating intensity was measured on the VAS scale (pain intensity). Participants were asked to put their hand in a container with cold water and keep it there until the pain became difficult to bear.

In both VR conditions participants kept their hands in the cold water significantly longer than in a non-VR (control) condition. Results of pain intensity measures were in conclusive. We did not find any significant differences in effectiveness in the virtual environments that were used.

Our study reveals the psychosocial changes occurring in Polish students on the Internet in the last seven years. The study comprised two stages (2005 and 2012). The analyses indicated that while the Internet’s intense use has lowered, the factors facilitating Internet risk addiction have become more pronounced. Such risk factors are: the manner of using the Internet (entertainment, pornography); relationships in the cyber community; and time spent online (the more time spent, the greater the risk of addiction). The lower the self-esteem the higher the risk of addiction. However, the percentage of people with Internet addiction symptoms has remained static.

Year: 2013

The article presents research that aimed to answer whether humor regulates negative emotions. The studies were conducted in the paradigm of precedence. The first group was entered into a negative mood, in the second one however, a positive mood was induced. Afterwards, the respondents were presented with jokes, which were subjected to the evaluation of the degree of their funniness. The conducted observations indicate that the evaluation of jokes emerging at the beginning is consistent with the mood preceding their evaluation, and is higher in the group of people with a positive mood. It was noted however, that the exposure of subsequent humorous stimuli causes that the assessment of the jokes’ funniness changes and is higher among people in whom a negative mood was produced. This indicates that the regulation of emotions under the influence of humorous stimuli may occur along with the presentation of subsequent jokes.

Selected factors of future time perspectives for women and men in later adulthood.
The article presents research aimed at defining relations between formal aspects of future time perspectives of women, men, and aging, as well as selected aspects of individuals’ self-assessments, such as: life satisfaction, optimism, autonomy, self- control, self-improvement, independence, introspection, and pursuit of values.
Research subjects included 227 women and 177 men above the age of sixty. The future time perspective questionnaire, the satisfaction with life scale, the life orientation test, and the introspection scale were all used.
Those aspects of self-image, which were important in the case of women, did not necessarily matter with men. The greatest number of differences between men and women appear in focus on current matters and in long time perspectives. In women the selected aspects of future time perspectives most often relate to pursuit of values and independence, while in men to life satisfaction, age and different intensities of introspection.

There is a constant debate in the modern literature about the meaning of the individual and social factors influencing an individual identity. The identity is most often displayed as a construct of a dynamical process of social interaction consisted of various factors that describe the individual psychophysical characteristics of an individual and factors, which stand as an effect of a socialization process. Presented in this article overview of the theories explain the meaning of both the personal and social factors and the relationship with the socio-cultural environment influencing the development of intellectually disabled identity.

Perception of other people is influenced mainly by the social categorization processes. Otherness depend on the culture the perceiver was raised in, the socio-political situation of his or her country, and on the individual factors such as: cognitive abilities and cognitive habits, emotions, or the need for closure. The current studies were conducted in the group of 300 students from 18 to 19 years old. It has been showed that the disadvantaged person is perceived mostly in the negative way, that is through their disabilities, disorders and illnesses, which are thought to be interfering with the realization of the needs, aspirations, values or a good social position. In students opinion the disability creates many problems in the social functioning, gaining acceptance of others, or in starting new relationship with normal - able persons. It has been concluded that the outcomes of the cur- rent study should be implemented in the education processes, especially of these students who are planning to become teachers or special educators in the future.

The article discusses another approach to the perception and understanding of disability and rehabilitation as well as to disabled persons themselves. Our discussion set in the context of life-span psychology makes it possible to combine several areas such as development, development support, disability, and rehabilitation in a common semantic space. This theoretical method, resulting from natural notions, may help us change how disabled persons are perceived, that is, only through their deficiencies. Life-span psychology enables one to approach disabled people by treating their rehabilitation as a living process that supports their development.

key words: disability, rehabilitation, life-span psychology

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2013, 1, 11, p. 83-106

Dominika Stryjewska, Bożena Janda-DębekMental Representations and Cognitive Maps in Humans a Review of Research and Theory

Abstract:

This paper presents the current state of knowledge and research on human mental spatial representations in the form of cognitive maps. Theoretical considerations about the characteristics and components of cognitive maps, as well as about errors made during their construction, are discussed. The probable individual traits involved in mental spatial reconstruction are pointed out. Because most people today live in urban habitats, the paper devotes a considerable amount of space to describing and analyzing cognitive maps by Kevin Lynch. Also discussed is environment legibility, especially in the urban environment.

Nowadays, the issue of cities and their functions is an important topic in urban studies in geography, architecture, sociology, and, psychology. The social perception and the interpretation of material forms is what the city is for people, and what function it fulfils for them is particularly important. The aim of this study was to investigate the subjective perception of the city’s functions for the people living there. The article conducted research on a group of 228 subjects. The study qualitatively analysed the respondents’ free expressions.
The results showed that the city is frequently seen as a learning and work center, a place for meetings, entertainment, cultural events, and as a place of residence. The city also has many psychological functions related to a person’s identity, sense of attachment, the home, the little country, development, being brought up as a child, growing up, and going into society. Some respondents pointed to the city’s negative functions or to its lack of them. Women more often than men perceived the city as a place of rest and recreation, to learnand work, to development oneself, or to socialize, while men more often perceived it as without any functions or a negative place.

key words: city, urban studies, urban geography, psychology of place

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2013, 2, 11, p. 7-24

Małgorzata KościelskaFaith, hope and love and its relations to health

Abstract:

This article has a theoretical character with implications for practice. It presents an original idea of relations between the concepts of health and faith, hope and love. Health is understood here, in accordance with medical tradition, as refer- ring to the condition of the body, that is the biological and physic-chemical nature of man. While faith, hope and love belong to the spiritual, social and mental category. I try, beyond the classic psychosomatic approach, to indicate a broader context of these relationships.

key words: aith, hope, love, health, the spiritual, social, psychological, biological and physicochemical level in the functioning of a man, the role of self in the regulation of human relations with the world

Rosacea is a chronic and inflammatory facial dermatosis, which etiology still re- mains unknown. The patogenetic factors of the somatic basis of this disorder have also its psychological causes.
The main aim of the current research was the analysis of the strategies of cop- ing with stress and disease applied by persons suffering from rosacea. The research was exploratory; conducted in two groups. The control group consists of 50 healthy persons, whereas the experimental group consists of 50 patients with rosacea. Both groups where similar in the socio-demographic characteristics. The study used the new and innovative questionnaire, Coping Responses Inventory (CRI) developed by Moos (Moos, R. H., 1986; Moos, R. H., Holahan, Ch. J., 2003). The research data revealed that patients with rosacea use mostly avoidance strategies focused on emotions.

Due to possible psychosocial and neurocognitive factors, asthma may present a risk to children’s executive functions and self-regulation, especially when it is poorly controlled. One hundred and one 8-11 year-old children (patients with asthma, ADHD and healthy peers) and their parents participated in the study. Four cognitive tasks measuring different executive functions and parent and child ver- sions of behavior regulation inventory were used. Children with asthma had more difficulties shifting their attention between tasks and exhibited more problems in self-regulation than their healthy peers, but their scores were better than children with ADHD. Patients with more intensive treatment, poor symptom control, a his- tory of acute asthma attacks and non-compliance had slightly more difficulties in executive functions and self-regulation.

The goals of the study were (1) to evaluate the relationship between short-term memory, everyday memory skills, and mood in stroke patients; (2) to investigate the differences between patients with inadequate and adequate insight into their own cognitive abilities; and (3) to determine the level of patient insight into his everyday memory abilities and mood.
In stroke patients significant correlations were obtained between (a) the subjective evaluation of short-term memory and everyday memory skills; and (b) everyday memory skills and mood. In comparison to participants with adequate insight into their own cognitive abilities, patients with inadequate insight manifested significantly lower results in both short-term memory and everyday memory. Affective states influence memory self-reports and determine the goals and the course of neuropsychological rehabilitation.

The aim of study was comparing the level of readiness to intervene in domestic violence situations declared by welfare workers and laypersons and determining if such reactions depend on a person’s age, level of emotional empathy and social competence, and self-assessment of one’s actively reacting to situations where others need help. In this study took a part 120 welfare workers and 120 laypersons. To measure the readiness to intervene were used 72 short stories describing situations of domestic violence (based on the intervention stages of Latane and Darley model). The Social Competence Questionnaire (SCQ) by A. Matczak was used to gauge the participants’ social competencies and emotional empathy level was measured using the Emotional Empathy Scale developed by M. A. Epstein. Results of study showed among others that welfare workers declare higher level of general readiness to help than laypersons. The best predictor of probability to intervene for social workers was knowledge about appropriate forms of help, and for laypersons was sense of responsibility for reacting in such situations. Social competences were more significant to decision about intervene for laypersons than for welfare workers.

The article introduces the Polish adaptation of the Work Regulatory Focus Scale. The authors tested its validity in three studies. Confirmatory factor analyses vindicated the two-factor solution with a low correlation between promotion and prevention scales and their relatively high reliability (Study 1). We observed the expected differences between dissimilar professions in the levels of regulatory foci (Study 2). Moreover, the tool allowed us to predict participants’ results in a different criterion – creativity (Study 3), by demonstrating that promotion-oriented participants are more original, fluent and divergent in producing creative ideas than prevention-oriented participants. Implications for the results and the WRF Scale are discussed.

There is no widely accepted definition or conceptualization of workaholism. The primary purpose of this paper is to clarify some of these issues and define and contextualize excessive workload together with its negative consequences. Our study presents a more comprehensive understanding of workaholism and takes into account employee’s cognitive (beliefs) and personality factors (perfectionism and obsessive compulsiveness), situational factors of work environment, and person’s working style. A clearer understanding of the underpinnings of workaholism may allow the practitioners to assess and manage work addiction better.

Research on the first version of the Working Excessively Questionnaire revealed its potential use for assessing the work overload problem. The aim of the present paper is to present the development and the psychometric properties of the second version of the WEQ.
The development of WEQ occurred in two main steps. In the first phase, an initial list of 229 items was created. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 1,746 persons revealed an interpretable 78-item, four-factor solution with good internal consistency. We considered practical experience from the use of our questionnaire, particularly the comments from workplace studies where the questionnaire had been used. In the second phase, a total of 2,658 employees aged 17 - 67 completed a questionnaire and a demographics survey. An exploratory factor analysis was accomplished using maximum likelihood ex- traction with oblimin rotation. A four-factor structure was retained. The four-factor solution explained 34.58% of the variance and provided a good fit to the data. The final version of the WEQ questionnaire consists of 65 statements. The four factors were Lack Of Control Over Work Scale (LCWS), Perfectionist Working Style Scale (PWSS), General Beliefs About Work Scale (GBWS), and Perceived Oppressiveness Of The Organization Scale (POOS). Each factor contained an ad- equate number of items and had good internal consistency. The results of this study suggest that the revised WEQ appears to be a psychometrically sound tool for the assessment of the work overload problem.

In the article, the author presents the main theses of his Psychologia dążeń I skłonności zawodowych (Psychology of Vocational Strivings and Inclinations, Jarosiewicz, 2012). Empirically grounded, the study draws on career counselling practice, in particular on the provision of career diagnosis on the basis of multiple- choice tests (Achtnich, 2010). Analysing the assumptions behind such qualitative techniques, the author comes to distinguish the phenomenon of choice as such within a wider group of decision-making processes. He defines “choice” as settling on the object of wanting. Choice-making is informed by a person’s prior experiences and desires crystallized as strivings. A person tends to choose what s/he finds personally suitable, because the role of choice consists in subjective directing of one’s activity, that is in self-directing. The author contrasts the subjectivity of choices with the objectivity of decisions, and even with their objectivism in their role of directing things.

In our research we explored the moderating effect of trait-anxiety on improving academic performance during one year. A large sample of 3457 adolescents (1695 girls and 1762 boys) aged from 16 to 17 years took part in the Polish extension in 2009 of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) measuring mathematics, reading and science skills. After 12 months they completed the academic performance test once again, and trait and state-anxiety was measured using STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). Trait-anxiety moderated the change in performance in mathematics but not in science or reading. A high level of trait-anxiety impaired mathematics skills development. Additionally three models for mathematics, reading and science were tested in which state-anxiety predicted 2010 academic performance in these domains.

In fields of modern psychology and psychiatry there was a significant increase of researches on body subject. New instrument designed to measure body image and body-self are appearing. However, method for sense of body boundaries measurement have not been yet constructed. Sense of this kind is presumed to be a important body experience related to human personality and identity formation.
Authors of this article present phases of Sense of the Body Boundaries Survey construction, as well as current psychometric values. Method is designed to measure the means in which individual experience own body surface.
Questionnaire fills the gap in the list of empirical measurement methods in field of body psychology and may be a beginning for numerous interesting studies.

key words: sense of body boundaries, body self

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2013, 3, 11, p. 111-126

Paweł Izdebski, Martyna Kotyśko Personality variables and depression as determinants of problematic use of mobile phones in Poland

Abstract:

Our research concerns the problematic use of a mobile phone, which was carried out on a Polish sample. We adapted an instrument to measure that construct, created by Bianchi and Phillips – Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale (MPPUS). The Polish equivalent of this scale, developed by Izdebski and Kotyśko, is called the Problematic Cell Phone Use Questionnaire (PCPUQ). Our main goal was to determine if personality variables and depression are related to using a mobile phone. The study included 315 mobile phone users between the ages 18 to 62. Results showed that problematic mobile phone use was related to a young age, extraversion, low agreeableness and a high level of depression.

We approach the problem of possibilities of intellectually disabled persons development in the context of a specific experience which is the life in L’Arche communities. Empirical references constitute the research of a narrative type. Theoretical foundations are based on Jeana Vanier’s personalistic philosophy as well as in the context of development from the point of view of life-span psychology and development support.

This article presents the results of correlation studies on the Lack of Control Over Work Scale (LCWS) of the Working Excessively Questionnaire (WEQ), developed by Hornowska and Paluchowski (2007). LCWS consists of items indicating a lack of control over the work sphere, in the cognitive, behavioral and social dimension. The results of the LCWS Scale may be applied to research with the use of WEQ questionnaire as a screening tool allowing to differentiate the individuals addicted to work from those who are not in danger of becoming addicted or those who are in the risk group. The aim of our study was to investigate the psychological correlates of the lack of control over work. We formulated hypotheses concerning the relationship between the LCWS and constructs like self-esteem, locus of control, temperamental traits, and sense of mission. We also tested hypothesis concerning demographic factor and the LCWS.

This article presents the results of correlation studies on the Perfectionist Working Style Scale (PWSS) of the Working Excessively Questionnaire (WEQ), developed by Hornowska and Paluchowski (2007). The items of PWSS do not relate to consequences of excessive workload or work addiction, as much as to potential causes of these phenomena. The items pertain to a person’s way / style of preparing and conducting work activities, which is characterized by a person’s excessive strive for excellence. The aim of the study was to investigate the psychological correlates of the perfectionist working style. We formulated hypotheses that apply to the relationship between PWSS and constructs such as self-esteem, locus of control, temperamental traits, hope for success and need for achievement.

This article presents the results of correlation studies on the General Beliefs About Work Scale (GBWS) of the Working Excessively Questionnaire (WEQ), developed by Hornowska and Paluchowski (2007). GBWS consists of items describing possible beliefs about work. Many of them refer to the attitude towards the working hours. The results of the GBWS may be used to find internal factors that con- tribute to excessive workload. Our aim was to analyze the psychological correlates of a belief that work defines the value of a person. We formulated hypotheses concerning the relationship between the GBWS and constructs like attachment style, temperament traits, hope for success, self-esteem and demographic data.

This article presents the results of correlation studies on the Perceived Oppressiveness of the Organization Scale (POOS) of the Working Excessively Questionnaire (WEQ) - developed by Hornowska and Paluchowski (2007). POOS consists of items referring to a person’s functioning within their work organization. Answers on this scale allow to point out the risk factors associated with workplace characteristics that may lead to work addiction. The aim of the study was to investigate the psychological correlates of the perceived oppressiveness of a workplace. We hypothesized that the POOS may be connected to constructs like locus of control, temperamental traits and self esteem. We also tested the demographic factors.

Human attitude towards architectural objects depends on many factors. These include cultural, situational, and individual conditions, as well as psychological distance towards the object. Yaacov Trope and Nira Liberman – creators of the Construal Level Theory (CLT) – maintain that psychological distance towards any object may significantly influence psychological construction of the object; we construct psychologically distant objects more abstractly, and close ones – more concretely.
In our article we present the results of a study in which we manipulated the psychological distance towards architectural objects, making them more concrete (bringing them closer psychologically to test participants) by placing logos of chosen restaurant brands on their fronts. We were looking for an answer to the question: Is an abstract object (building) evaluated differently than a more concrete one despite the fact that both have identical formal features (color, shape, form)?
We tested 120 people. Experiment results support the assumptions of the CLT. Participants reacted differently to an abstract object (without a signboard) than to all objects made more concrete with restaurant logo signboards (including a fictional franchise). The differences in affective reactions were especially significant. Reactions to objects on the same level of concreteness did not differ, even between varying brands. Regardless of brands, affective reactions towards more concrete objects (any signboard, any brand) were more positive than towards an abstract object (without signboard).

The values to which a person adheres shape one’s personality. The aim of our present project was to assess whether, and in what way, the crisis connected with high-risk pregnancy influences a woman’s system of values.
The study group consisted of 61 patients in the Department and Ward of Obstetrics and Pregnancy Pathology of the Medical University of Lublin in their first high-risk pregnancy. The control group was composed of 50 women in their first normal pregnancy. The average age in each group was 27.4. The majority of women were married and educated.
Method: sociometric survey and the Polish adaptation of Value Survey (VS) by M. Rokeach, 1973. Data was analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U Test.
The study showed no differences between the preferred terminal and instrumental values in either group. The terminal values included: Family security, Mature love, Wisdom, Self-Respect etc.; the instrumental ones included: Love, Responsibility, Honesty, etc.
Conclusions:
1. High-risk pregnancy does not affect a woman’s system of values.

Our objective was to demonstrate the level of life quality among recidivist prisoners and to determine the personal factors associated with that feature.
In our research 100 prisoners participated. Used in the measurement were The Questionnaire of Sense Of Quality of Life, Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire INTE, Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, Generalized Self Efficacy Scale (GSES), and Life Orientation Test- Revised – LOT-R.
The measured quality of life levels were as follows: 32% prisoners obtained low; 59% average and 9% high scores. These persons had low levels of emotional intelligence (41% low scores), an average level of optimism (66% average scores) and high self-efficacy (42% high scores). Prisoners negatively evaluated their past, fatalistically evaluated their present, and firmly focused on the future. The study indicates a strong correlation between sense of life quality and emotional intelligence, and future time perspective and optimism. This information might be important in creating rehabilitation programs for prisoners.

Year: 2012

This study investigated analgesia mechanisms by using virtual reality (VR) technology. We tested how the content of a virtual environment (VE) influences the in- tensity of experienced pain. Two different VE’s were used – relaxation and stimulation, and pain was triggered by heat stimuli. We used repeated experimental designs for the study. Thirty-two undergraduate psychology students participated, with each person being immersed in two VE’s while a heat stimulus was applied to their wrist. Objective and subjective pain measurements were collected on a visual analog scale (VAS) – the temperature of the heat stimulus and the participant’s assessment of pain intensity. Participants also filled in questionnaires designed to measure their temperaments and anxiety levels. We also recorded the subject’s respiratory rate. We found no significant difference between the two VE’s in their analgesic efficacy. Under both VR conditions participants endured significantly higher temperatures than under the no-VR condition. We found no significant differences in the influence of temperament or anxiety on a specific VE efficacy.

This article attempts to describe borderline personality organization from the point of view of the defense mechanisms constellation. A brief theoretical review has been provided, and results of classical and more recent empirical studies in this area have been presented; the author’s own research on defense mechanisms employed by individuals with BPO has been described. The larger part of the results are in accord with accepted theoretical assumptions, namely, that individuals with BPO are characterized by a high index use of primitive defense mechanisms, and with a concomitant low index use of more developmentally mature defenses.

This study aims to measure health behaviour change in chronic dermatoses and to assess the predictive power of coping strategies for engagement in health behaviour. The research sample was comprised of 120 participants, which included a group of 60 patients with chronic dermatoses (30 patients with psoriasis and 30 patients with vitiligo) and 60 healthy individuals as controls. Instruments used in this study were Health Behaviour Inventory and Coping Orientations to Problems Experiences COPE. The study revealed that there is no difference in health behaviour between vitiligo patients and controls. Psoriasis patients more frequently engage in preventive behaviour than healthy individuals. Coping strategies can be used to predict health behaviour in chronic dermatoses.

key words: health behaviour, psoriasis, vitiligo, coping strategies

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2012, 1, 10, p. 33-64

Agnieszka Widera-WysoczańskaFactors influencing court diagnoses of sexually abused children and their family - some lessons from practice

Abstract:

On the basis of having analysed 50 psychological court investigations with children, ages three to 11, and thought to have experienced sexual abuse, problems of psychologically assessing a child and the method of writing a psychological report will be described. Data analysis was applied for interpretation of the documents, based on qualitative hermeneutical procedures. Sexual abuse of children was reported to the prosecution by the mother of the child on its own initiative or was motivated by the institutions (kindergarten, school, psychologist). I chose to analyze the opinions in which the partner (husband or partner) of the mother was suspected of molestation and also was the child’s father or step-father. Suspects had a high school education or higher and had a well established professional career. Research results showed that some of the problems that psychologists have to deal with are 1. methods: theoretical assumptions on which the diagnosis is based, diagnostic tools, the process of diagnosis adjusted for the child’s age; 2. psychological phenomena in the course of diagnosis: internal processes in childhood, mothers, suspicions, the situation and motivation of mothers, the offenders relationships with the child and the parent; 3. topics for diagnosis; 4. presenting material from the diagnosis.

Present studies on experiencing menopause by women emphasise the importance not only of hormonal and psychological variables but also of socio-cultural ones. This article presents the results of our research, whose aim was to analyse if and in what way age influences the image of a woman in her menopausal period. Forty women, ages 40-52, and 64 women, ages 20-35, participated in the research. Qualitative analysis indicates that age influences a woman’s image during her menopause. The young women perceived menopause more negatively, stressing its physiology in this life phase. However, the women in the menopausal period had either a positive or a negative image of it. The women with a positive image associated menopause mainly with a natural life phase, as a full-fledged woman who knew her strengths.

key words: menopause, women in the menopausal period

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2012, 1, 10, p. 75-88

Danuta Borecka-BiernatChildren copying or learning parental/adult aggression as a way to manage their own social conflicts

Abstract:

The primary purpose of the survey was to attempt to determine whether the strategy of aggressively managing social conflicts by young people co-existed with their parents’ aggression-biased strategy for managing these same conflicts. The causes for such coexistence (if it occurs) were sought, in particular the role model which can be assigned to the case under consideration. The author’s questionnaire for examining the parental strategy as perceived by a child and the author’s questionnaire for examining the strategy as to how young people cope with that strategy were applied in the survey. The survey was conducted on a group of 811 adoles- cents (414 girls and 397 boys) ages 13-15. The group included pupils from junior high schools in Wrocław and its environs. It was found that parents who apply a strategy based on aggression contribute to the modelling of aggressive strategies used by young people. It should be noted that sex plays an important role in the modelling. Impacts made by a parent of the opposite sex which favours the strategy of aggression developed by adolescent young people was also noted.

The aim of this study was to provide results of a preliminary evaluation of the BRIGE (Building Resilience through Intervention, Guidance, and Empowerment) prevention program. The program was designed for youths aging out of the foster care system in Poland and starting independent life. Prior research by our research team documented that these youth are at high risk for homelessness, mental health problems, and other poor outcomes in the years after exiting foster care. Research participants were the first 5 youths who entered the BRIGE program (in fall 2009). All were preparing to leave orphanages in Poland. Each youth was appointed a case manager who worked with the youth over a period of at least 18 months. Each youth was evaluated at 4 times of measurement: program entry (Baseline), 6 months (follow-up 1), 12 months (follow-up 2), and 18 months (follow-up 3). The results showed that, in terms of mental health outcomes on the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), there were reductions in most symptom areas.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether irrelevant haptic experience can unconsciously influence reasoning and prosocial attitudes. A secondary aim was to test whether this effect depends on individual sensitivity to tactile information. We examined whether the warmth and weight of held objects influences judgments of important situations and attitudes. Additionally, we investigated if high autotelic orientation reduces susceptibility to the unconscious influence of tactile sensations. The results showed that by touching heavy and warm objects an en- trusted task is regarded as important, that touching warm objects does not increase prosocial attitudes, and that high autotelic orientation increases sensitivity to the influence of the touched object.

Research so far and hypotheses about psychological aspects of perception suggest that attitudes towards objects can be affected by individual traits, especially temperament.
In this article the authors attempt to discuss whether attitudes towards architectural an object could be conditioned individually, at the level of temperamental differences. The authors reveal empirical findings on the relation of temperament to attitudes towards architectural structures featured in various shapes, colors and forms. The study included 389 persons. The fundamental issue was addressed using 3D architectural models (with variable controlled formal features) and the author’s Questionnaire on Attitudes to Architectural Objects. The obtained results are unambiguous: Temperament varies the attitude, but not unconditionally. Significant variation of attitudes due to temperament seems to affect architectural objects only with specific layouts of formal features. Nevertheless, the presented results can be treated as a premise for further research in this field of study.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between an alcoholic’s quality of life and the results of therapy which were defined as the ability to maintain abstinence for one year. The Life Satisfaction Questionnaire FLZ by Fahrenberg and others, and the the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) by Watson and others were applied in this study. The study was conducted at the be- ginning and end of therapy, one year after subjects started maintaining abstinence, with one group (n = 64) sustaining their abstinence and the second group (n = 81) relapsing into drinking. Results indicate that at the beginning of treatment the groups’ levels of life satisfaction and affect did not differ. When therapy ended, people maintaining abstinence were characterized by higher levels of overall satisfaction with life and satisfaction with health, leisure, and friends. Throughout the treatment, patients who remained abstinent experienced significant increases in several dimensions of life satisfaction, overall satisfaction, and positive affects. These were not observed among patients who relapsed into drinking.

Aleksandra HulewskaApplying Social Skills Training (SST) in a Programme for Doctors

Abstract:

This article is a continuation of a research project conducted in late 2010-2011. The results of that research showed that in medical circles there is a high demand for training in the fields of effective communication, assertiveness, establishing a close, intimate contact with patients and/or their families and so on. In that situation it was decided to check whether, in the opinion of the training participants, applying SST to help doctors develop social competences used in their daily work would turn out to be useful. For this purpose, a series of training sessions for doctors was designed, implemented and thereafter evaluated. A comparison of the evaluations carried at three time points - before training, immediately after, and three months following completion of the training - has led us to conclude that SST can be a useful tool for doctors to develop social skills facilitating their daily contacts with patients and their families.

The research aim is to verify the similarity that selected spouses demonstrate regarding their levels of self-differentiation and the strengths of their physical selves. Murray Bowen’s Family Systems Theory and Sakson-Obada’s model of corporal self constitute the theoretical basis for the examination. It is assumed that the level of spousal self-differentiation can be correlated; however, the spouses differ in this variable’s certain dimensions. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that partners are similar in the physical self’s strength with the exception of the attitude toward their own bodies. Research was conducted on 56 young couples married for five years or less. The hypotheses were confirmed to a large extent. The discussion focused on an analysis of dissimilar mechanisms used by wives and husbands in dealing with their marital tensions. In this context, possibly prevent- ing marital dissatisfaction via supporting spouses in developing self-differentiation and deepening an awareness of their corporeity is also discussed.

Sixty-four adolescent girls and 35 boys, from single–mother families in the South of Poland assessed the quality of their communication with their mothers using the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale (PACS). ANOVA’s were performed to link the scores to mother and family characteristics. Mothers with the highest educational level were assessed as the best communicators both by the sons and daughters, with their result depending on the mothers’ age. It was the strongest for mothers aged 42 and younger where, with education increased beyond grade 10 through vocational to secondary or tertiary, a positive 45% increase in communication was observed at a significance level of p<0.002. With some exceptions, the best communication was reported by adolescents with the fewest siblings and those from towns.

The objective of our study was to examine whether work-family conflicts and type A behaviour pattern mediate in the dependence between job stressors, job burnout, and work engagement. According to the job demands, we assumed that job stressors would influence job burnout and involvement by means of the variable of work-family conflict. Whereas type A behaviour pattern would moderate the effect of job stressors upon job burnout and work engagement. The examined group comprised medical staff (N = 282). The research results support the hypothesis to a large extent. The results confirm significantly the assumptions of the job demands – resources model, and they suggest developing the model.

Year: 2011

Jenny Mercer, Dan Heggs “...it’s difficult to study psychology in a different way”: reflections of Polish ERASMUS students on a year of a psychology degree in the UK

Abstract:

This study explores accounts of Polish ERASMUS students who had taken part in a study abroad year in a British university. The objective was to investigate if prior knowledge of studying psychology in one country mediates the experience in another and to discuss how participants found the process of integration in relation to studying in a different country. Focus group interviews were analysed using a thematic anlaysis technique. Some challenging contrasting pedagogical and epistemological differences between the two systems emerged and integration between home and ERASMUS students was reported as being low level. Discus- sions about how these findings can be related to the aims of ERASMUS and the wider remit of internationalisation are offered.

Bożena Janda-Dębek, Anna Jakubiec, Kinga Januszek, Katarzyna Joczyn, Anna KurczewskaLiars and others An attempt to verify the hypothesis that it is humanly possible to detect deceivers

Abstract:

This article presents the results of empirical research verifying the hypothesis that it is humanly possible to detect deceivers. The theoretical basis for the research project were the assumptions of the social contract conception by Leda Cosmides and John Tooby. The project was conducted in a few research stages, in which 556 people took part (221 people in the actual research). After analysis of the results, which constituted photographs and films with men participating, an answer was given to the main research question (Is there a significant difference between accuracy in identifying liars and people possessing other socially unwelcome features?) . Analyses in the preliminary stages also answered the question concerning people’s convictions on the harmfulness of telling a lie in social relations, as well as in their declarations concerning the ability level of identifying and remembering liars.

key words: lie, socially unwelcome features, identification of liars

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2011, 2, 9, p. 47-70

Alicja KuczyńskaBonding Behavior and Social Etiquette: People’s Reactions to Bonding Behavior Inconsistent with Social Norm

Abstract:

Evolutionary concepts suggest the existence of special patterns of behaviors which are an effective way to achieve bonds (Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1987). The results of psychological research, using scenarios involving behavior consistent with social norms, confirm these suggestions. Such behavioral patterns indeed fulfill their bonding function, both in the initial phase of forming a close relationship (Kuczyńska, 1991, 1993.1999), as well as in maintaining it (Kuczyńska, 1998). They have a positive influence on the affective, cognitive and behavioral reactions of individuals to whom they are presented (Kuczyńska, 1998). The purpose of this research was twofold: to test whether these behaviors would also be so effective when they are inconsistent with social norms, and to determine what part social norms play in the affective, cognitive and behavioral reactions of people towards whom such behaviors are presented. One hundred sixty people took part in the study. A pair of specially trained researchers presented four types of behaviors: neutral and bonding behaviors consistent with social norms, and friendly and sexual behaviors inconsistent with social standards. The results prove that the subjects’ reactions depend on the degree of conformity between the behaviors and social norms and on the strength of their bonding.

This paper attempts to find an empirical answer to the question whether experiencing their own corporeity by women is related in any way to their level of differentiation shaped in the stage of up-bringing. Another question raised in this treatise is whether remaining in a partner relationship influences the strength and quality of both variables. Research is based on analysis of a survey carried out on 86 women aged 21-26. The theoretical basis for the research was O. Sakson-Obada’s corporal self model and M. Bowen’s concept of differentiation. The relation between the strength of the corporal self and the level of differentiation was confirmed. Additionally, it was observed that single women and women remaining in relationships differ from each other with regard to emotional distance toward the partner, as well as the intensity of corporal self disorders. Research results seem to be meaningful in the field of psychological therapy.

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a correlational study on the relationship between three elements: psychological gender, quality of life and mastectomy. The research question was formulated as follows: “Do women of different psychological genders who have undergone mastectomies differ in their way of sensing their quality of life?” Results are based on our own empirical research on a group of 70 women between the ages of 41 and 72. In the past all of these women underwent mastectomies. Results reveal that in comparison with other persons surveyed, androgynous women may have a higher level of satisfaction and sense of ability/productivity in dealing with this disease. Interestingly, so- called “masculine women” do not appear within the researched persons’ gender identity types. Perhaps the breast cancer experience has caused a distinct focus on not only physical but also psychological, namely identity related, femininity attributes, contributing to identity-related compensation of one’s own femininity. The obtained results are a strong inspiration for further research.

The article presents possibilities of the practical application of Murray Bowen’s family systems theory in the therapy of an individual client. The theory explains emotional processes in a family system as well as the ways in which family members cope with anxiety, closeness and distance in relationships. What is more, by describing symptom formation, the theory shows intergenerational processes of family projection. Following Bowen’s approach, this case study depicts a man who reports somatic symptoms and anxieties about establishing a partner relation- ship and starting a family. The analysis offers both systemic and individual views on the client’s problems, and determines the directions of the therapy.

Year: 2010

Elżbieta StojanowskaThe Influence of Interpersonal and Instrumental Feedback on Self-Disclosure of People with Different Levels of Self-Esteem

Abstract:

The influence of positive “interpersonal” and “instrumental” feedback on declared self-disclosure with a new acquaintance was investigated in a group of 120 women and men. Results showed that low self-esteem men declared the most intimate self- disclosure after receiving interpersonal feedback. On the contrary, high self-esteem men were ready to disclose the most personal information after instrumental feed- back. In the female group low self-esteem women declared stronger self-disclosure in neutral conditions than after receiving positive feedback, and in turn high self-esteem women were ready to reveal themselves at the same level, regardless of conditions. The effects are discussed according to socialization processes, and specific, or nonspecific labeling influences on the subject’s behavior.

Misremembering under suggestion is a problem discussed very often in the latest scientific research. In the literature, especially English, many investigations are described concerning deformations of episodic memory, as well as misremembering connected with past emotions, attitudes and beliefs. Our main purpose of this article is to present concrete research on misremembering associated with beliefs about one’s own physical condition. An experiment was presented in which a researcher, by means of suggestion, tried to change participants’ beliefs about their headache frequency in the past. At the same time we verified the hypothesis of misremembering on headache anxiety (understood as a symptom) on the beliefs.

The aim of the research was to seek the family-grounded aetiology for adolescents’ defence strategies (aggression, avoidance, submission) of coping with social conflict situations determined by parental attitudes. The study used the Roe- Siegelman PCR III Questionnaire to examine the perception of parental attitudes and the Conflict Resolution Style Questionnaire (KSRK) by T. Wach. The empirical survey was conducted on a group of 126 adolescents (68 girls and 58 boys) at the age of 14–15. On the grounds of the research conducted it has been stated that improper educational attitudes characterised by emotional distance or emotional concentration of mothers and fathers towards an adolescent are a significant predictor of defensive strategies of coping in social conflict situations.

Elżbieta Napora, Anna M. SchneiderThe Influence of Parenting Style in Single Mother Families from the South of Poland on an Emotional Functioning of Adolescent Girls and Boys

Abstract:

Seventy adolescents, 35 girls and 35 boys, from single mother families in the South of Poland were tested in order to establish factors determining their emotional functioning. It was found that communication quality, which is the deciding component of the parenting process, does not differ significantly between mother- son and mother-daughter dyads. However, good communication significantly aids sons’ development in the emotional intelligence dimension of cognitive control over emotions and the dimension of understanding and becoming aware of emotions, factors that foster social adjustment. Meanwhile there is no significant correlation between the style of mother-daughter communication and girls’ levels of emotional intelligence or scoring on any of the dimensions tested. This indicates that in the South of Poland mothers’ positive influence is more important for psychosocial development of their sons than their daughters.

The article presents a systematic analysis of higher education restructuring. The analysis begins by explaining the competence approach, which provides for implementation of the health saving principle. It outlines the topical problem in circumstances where the health of the growing generation is worsening as a consequence of a difficult demographic situation.

Groups of disorders diagnosed in childhood and adolescence are presented on the basis of the DSM-IV TR classification system. Mental handicaps, epidemiology of disorders and concrete thinking in persons with mild mental retardation have been more widely discussed.

Bianka LewandowskaCultural and Social Conditionings of Narcissistic Personality Disorders

Abstract:

The text discusses the social and cultural determinants of the increase of narcissistic personality disorder. Clinical perspective of developmental psychology was adapted here to examin the views of Donald Winnicott on the consequences of healthy and impaired mother-child relationship for the developing personality. In light of this analysis, the contemporary tendencies that hinder proper development of the relationship are indicated. Cultural factors that reinforce narcissistic disorder in the later stages of development are also mentioned. Such an arrangement of the image of narcissistic disorder conditions seems to be important for early prevention of this phenomenon.

Magdalena Żurko1Antoni Kępiński’s Views on the Relation Between the Value System and Personality Disorders

Abstract:

The article discusses Antoni Kępiński’s views on the relationship between irregularities in the assessment process and personality disorders. A. Kępiński represents humanistic psychiatry, which stresses the integral treatment of a sufferer and does not recognize a clear-cut boundary between health and illness.
The stiffness of responses so characteristic of personality disorders is connected with self-protection, contradictions between assessment layers (the official and un- official hierarchy, a biological and emotional hierarchy vs. a social and cultural one) and lies told about oneself. What matters when working with people suffering from this type of disorders is the quality of the therapeutic relationship, which allows for organising the assessment process. Adolescence creates favourable conditions for working on the system of values connected with personality shaping. Both disordered and healthy persons need to ask themselves how organise their lives.

This article is an attempt to describe a narcissist personality and to distinguish its sociological determinants. The focus and main subject is the phenomenon of self- addiction. The phenomenon of self-addition described here, whose social indicator is contact with a group and relations created within it, was discussed in the relevant literature only diversely and non-systematically. The understanding and sociological interpretation of this phenomenon is still open, while basic questions related to addiction “to oneself”, “through one’s ‘self”, and “within oneself” help to determine it as a socially generated pathology or deviation, where self-addiction is caused by weakening of group bonds and the disappearance of a sense of belonging to a group and loss of the “we” meaning.

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Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2010, 2, 8, p. 41-65

Katarzyna DurniatMobbing as Psychopathology of Personality and Pathology of Organization

Abstract:

The author describes the pathology of mobbing in the workplace in view of some international and her own research findings. In the paper mobbing is regarded both as a pathology within the context of an organization as well as a psychopathology of an individual (perpetrator) and a group (mobbing witnesses). The mechanisms of the phenomenon are not limited to the narrow organisational or corporate con- text and are undoubtedly attributable to wider mechanisms of psychological harassment and aggression. It is highly laudable to examine the dynamics of bullying in a broader context of moral abuse, much in the fashion of the French psychiatrist and victimologist, Marie- France Hirigoyen. The author of the paper presents some elements of her own model of mobbing, aroused both from her clinical experience (interviews with mobbing victims in 2004 and 2005) and the original research (two series of quantitative studies: 2005–2006; N=367 and 2007–2008; N=465). The results of the studies are indicative of a strong correlation between mobbing and some socio-organizational determinants as well as experiencing moral harassment and the negative psycho-somatic state in which the victims of persecution are. Mobbing proves to be a serious, heterogenic and interactional problem for an individual, organization and society.

Theoretical and empirical papers on the social functioning of people with border- line personality disorder and diagnostic criteria for these disorders suggest that they have weaker social competence than healthy people. However, there is no clear data which would allow one to determine whether they have adequate self-beliefs on the subject. The study attempted to find an answer to this question. The sample consisted of 168 university students of which 24 were characterized by features with BTD traits (“B +” group) and 144 persons normal controls (“B-“group). The study showed that in a safe situation (without direct, real participation in certain situations) where they can describe themselves and their reactions, people with BPD features have appropriate beliefs about their social competence.

Alina CzapigaLevel of Mental Development in a Child – Psychological Diagnosis, Criteria and Diagnostic tools

Abstract:

Three groups of diagnostic criteria of mental handicap included in the classification system of the American Psychiatric Association DSM-IV TR (2000) are discussed in this article. Diagnostic stages and the most common diagnostic tools used in measuring intelligence quotients and adaptive behavior in children are presented.

The purpose of this paper was to look at anorexia from the perspective of the pursuit of self-annihilation. I studied the occurrence, importance and function of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, DSH, delicate self-mutilation, and attitudes towards life and death among patients with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. Forty girls participated in the study, 20 with a diagnosis of anorexia and 20 healthy subjects. Patients with anorexia were surveyed using Crumbough and Maholick’s The Purpose in Life Test (PIL), Spilberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Spilberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) and Orbach’s Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale (MAST). During research I also analyzed medical records and used a semi-structured interview which I had designed. On the basis of gathered material, I made a case study of each person with anorexia. Individuals of the non-clinical groups were studied using the MAST Scale only. Some subjects with a diagnosis of anorexia were experiencing all the indicators of pursuit of self-annihilation, which are more characteristic of girls diagnosed with binge eating/purging type of anorexia. In addition, studies have shown that patients diagnosed with anorexia exhibit a different attitude towards life and death as compared to healthy people. It seems that an analysis of collected material indicates the importance of pursuit of self- annihilation in the etiology of anorexia.

Year: 2009

Alicja Kuczyńska, Sylwia Maśko, Aleksandra KuźnierskaSituational and Personality Considerations in Evaluating Potential Contact Situations with a Person of the Same or Opposite Sex

Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to verify whether formal characteristics of a situation in which people find themselves and selected subjective attributes of these persons could influence the evaluation of that situation regarding potential con- tact with the person of the same or opposite sex. The survey included formal and informal, symmetric and asymmetric situations in which the interaction partner was a stranger, an acquaintance, or a close person of the same and opposite sex to the person surveyed. Subjective attributes included social competences, psychological sex and self-esteem. In this quasi-experimental research 120 people (60 women and 60 men) took part. The results confirmed almost every hypothesis regarding main effects and provided interesting data which showed the interactive influence of studied variables upon the emotional, cognitive and behavioral aspects of the described estimations.

Małgorzata Górnik-DuroseGender and Material Possessions in a Consumer Society

Abstract:

The article presents arguments proving that dealing with material goods and resources in a household is a gendered activity. The arguments concentrate on consumer behaviour-related issues, such as shopping activity, the importance attached to material possessions and the materialistic orientation among men and women. The author also discusses the problem of materialism in men and women, showing its different nature in the case of both sexes. The differences are explained in terms of the “delegation hypothesis,” which is, based on the assumption that materialism in men and women is involved in the context of their relationship and gender roles. Women delegate men to be materialistically concerned, while they maintain the female social image as the non-materialistic, caring and benevolent part of human kind. The author presents empirical findings from the study of socalled psychological mercantilism supporting this hypothesis.

key words: gender, materialism, consumer behaviour

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2009, 1, 7, p. 41-58

Eugenia Mandal, Tomasz KurzejaFemininity and masculinity and perception of women and men in politics

Abstract:

In this article two research projects were presented about perceiving whether female politicians or male politicians were seen as being either feminine or masculine.
In the first research project (328 students: 207 women, 121 men) participants were supposed to estimate the competence and electoral chances of a male or a female politician, describing the traits of that politician as either feminine or masculine. Men viewed as masculine politicians, especially those holding high ranking positions, were evaluated more highly. It occurred that a high level of overt sexism is connected with the lower assessment of female politicians.
The aim of the second research project (40 individuals: 20 women, 20 men) was to measure the time needed to give a positive answer to questions about the willingness to vote, the assessment of the politician’s competence, and the electoral chances of the female politician who was described as being either feminine or masculine. People with high levels of modern sexism needed more time to declare their voting willingness for female politicians than did people with low levels of modern sexism.

Bożena Janda-DębekHow women lie. A short review of researches done on the differences in the reasons for, frequency, and the essence of lying among men and women

Abstract:

This article is a review of various authors’ research concerning the current state of research on the reasons for, the frequency of, and the essence of lying in women. It’s an attempt to answer the questions (1) do men and women differ significantly in the frequency of lying, (2) are women more willing to lie than to tell the truth, (3) do women lie for different reasons than men, (4) do women feel better than men while lying, (5) do women detect lies better than men and—finally—(6) is the closeness of a relationship related to well-being during lying. Findings described in this article are based both on experiments and declarations of both sexes.

Eugenia MandalGender and Influence Strategies Used by a Driver towards a Police Officer in the Situation of a traffic Violation

Abstract:

The article presents a study of influence strategies used by drivers towards police officers in order to avoid paying a ticket in the situation of a traffic violation. The problem was analysed from the gender perspective.
The subjects were 120 drivers (60 men and 60 women). The research was done using a projective method of the “paper-and-pencil” type containing drawings illustrating situations of traffic violations. The variables: police officer’s sex and driver’s sex were analysed.
Results showed that the strategies preferred towards a male police officer were the diminishing of one’s own fault and the one preferred towards a female police officer was creating a closeness atmosphere and triggering off a help principle. Sex differences referred to the tactic of financial bribery chosen mainly by male drivers and the tactic of bargaining preferred by female drivers.

The subject of the study is to define the relationship between biological sex, psychological gender, the attachment style and the form of commitment. Study variables: biological sex, psychological gender (femininity, masculinity, androgyny and lack of sexual identification), attachment style (safe, anxious–ambivalent, avoidance) and form of commitment (affective, normative and continuance).
The study was based on the Polish Version of Allen’s and Meyer’s Organizational Commitment Scale; Sheiver’s, Hazan’s and Bradshaw’s method of describing attachment styles; and Kuczyńska’s Psychological Gender Inventory. One hundred and sixteen individuals aged 20–50 were examined (64 females and 52 males). The study proved significant but with low dependence on psychological gender, attachment styles and forms of commitment, and compliance with social expectations towards male and female behaviour, resulting from sex stereotypes.

Katarzyna PopiołekSocial support for couples with differing durations of marriage

Abstract:

This article contains a theoretical and empirical analysis of the temporary ground of support in marriage. It shows the changes in a husband and wife’s mutual support happening all along their marriage. The author applied two approaches in the research. One shows different functions of support as emotional, informational, and esteem while the other allows us to see how far the partners support each other in different areas of every day life: household duties, financial or health matters and so on. Also a subject of interest was the autoperception and mutual evaluation of a husband and wife as supporting people. The article suggests as well new directions in social support research which would step over established standards.

key words: social support, support in marriage, temporal perspective

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2009, 1, 7, p. 129-147

Grażyna MendeckaPartners’ Development in Marriages of Famous Writers

Abstract:

Marital life analysis of famous writers is an exemplification of creation and the role of marital union in the life and development of the human being. Marriage is considered to be an important step in the development of early adulthood (Havighurst, 1978). It is considered to be a long term interaction aiming at constant unity of two individuals, which is accomplished by reaching their goals and taking action. A close relationship stimulates the development of both partners of the dyad in sequential phases of their life. Marital interactions change feelings of protection, responsibility and self-acceptance. Famous writers were dedicated to their work, which demanded great intellectual effort. Happy marriage was considered to be a great value in their life; it allowed for writing at the expense of limited engagements into marital and parental duties. Concentration on their priority target resulted in exceptional development of their talents. The wives of famous writers, representing strong individuality and often representing a similar intellectual level, supplied their husbands with substantial support. Their share in the marriage and in the husbands’ career was appreciated socially, which is documented in biographies by Katherine Mann, Vera Nabokow and Nora James. Without losing their identity they would set their goal of life as supporting their outstanding husbands, that is, they would just ‘be wives’ instead of ‘having husbands’ as E. Fromm says. They showed maturity; as their husband’s popularity grew, they were able to adjust to their secondary position without losing their identities. Marital problems were typical for those wives who tried to compete with their husbands instead of complying with that secondary role in their lives.

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Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2009, 1, 7, p. 149-159

Bogna Bartosz, Edyta ZierkiewiczOld age in the narratives of young and elderly women (an attempt at a narratives perspective presentation)

Abstract:

In this article we will try to find an answer to the question: what do women (young, but first of all old ones) say about the changes resulting from the ageing? How do they experience the time flow and how do they talk about their old age—about old age to come (young women) or the old age they are experiencing just now (old women). Through giving meaning to events, we participate in, as well as through future anticipation, those narratives which shape identity. The narratives of young and elderly women referring to old age and ageing enable them to adjust to inevitable current and anticipated changes: both psychophysical and psychological as they relate to one’s own self change in social and cultural environments. Talking about ourselves as about an old person neither protects us against disappointments, nor limits the number of encountered problems. However, it can help us to cope with trouble, discomfort, and unpleasantness, and to discover the advantages of life’s experiences gathered as we grow older. Your own reflectivity, distance and ability to (re)interpret you own life experiences and its irreversibilities may help you considerably.

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Year: 2007

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2007, 1, 5, p. 7-16

Lidia MarekHope for and interpersonal relations from the point of view of megatrends

Abstract:

The paper describes interpersonal relations from the point of view of contemporary megatrends presented by J. Naisbitt. Attention focusses on looking for characteristic features of interpersonal contacts in the context of contemporary social, economic, political, and cultural changes. The paper attempts to indicate values, goals and means for exerting a positive influence and shaping social participation and peaceful co-existence between nations and cultures. An important category described in the paper is hope. It is described as a phenomenon which directly and favourably intervenes into the life of a contemporary man, and can significantly change his/her sense of security and feeling of being lost (also in interpersonal relations) and favourably fit into the megatrends implementation plan.

key words: nterpersonal relations, megatrends, values, hope

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2007, 1, 5, p. 17-36

Agata MleczkoIdentity Problems of the Second Generation. Based on field research in the Chinese Diaspora in Milan (Italy)

Abstract:

The paper concerns some general conditions of development of the identity in the particular immigrant’s reality. The possible existence of the influence for the immigrant’s life trajectories and their potential identity profile choice is described. The presentation of the theories with the explanation of such a connection is limited to the Milan city case. The text consists of certain parts of individual biographical interviews with the Chinese second generation members collected by the author.

Małgorzata GamianOn applying the knowledge on social influence techniques

Abstract:

The article contains a review of studies on sequential social influence techniques. A great body of research has proved that the foot-in-the-door, door-in-the-face and low-ball techniques are effective tools for marketing and charity uses. On the other hand, there is also data showing some limitations in the practice of these strategies. The possible reasons for both successes and failures in implementing social influence techniques in practice are discussed.

Katarzyna ByrkaWhen assertiveness does not prevail: Contextual dependence of self-presentational styles and their influence on likeability and competence

Abstract:

Self-presentational descriptions such as self-enhancement and modesty are embedded in a social context. Therefore, when applied improperly they may lead to an erroneous or an unfavorable impression. In this study, participants evaluated the likeability and the competence of a self-presenting partner either when a common pair task required mutual cooperation or when results and competence mattered. A self-presentational description was either self-enhancing or modest depending on the experimental conditions. In line with expectations, modesty was assessed better in the situation of cooperation, whereas a self- enhancing strategy was more effective when competence was central. The adapting of a self-presentational style to a social situation appeared to be an important factor in the assessment of a self-presenter.

This article describes a process of implicit learning and its practical implementations. It also shows methods which are used in testing this process.
Implicit learning as a field of study in cognitive psychology began with A.S. Rebers«s work on artificial grammar learning in the late 1960s. From this time a numerous experimental methods were found for testing the process of implicit learning. Many of them looked like hermetic and laboratory procedures, which is far from natural human behavior. The aim of this work is to show a few research attempts in which authors prove that these methods can be used in more natural human conditions.

Piotr Sorokowski, Andrzej SzmajkeHow Does the “Red Win” Effect Work? The Role of Sportswear Colour During Sports Competitions

Abstract:

The influence of an athlete’s red outfit on the result of the sports competition has been analyzed during the Olympic Games in Athens. The results suggest that having a red outfit increased an athlete’s chances for winning (Hill, Barton, 2005). Assuming the realism of the „reds win” effect, the question of its mechanism remains unsolved. This article presents research, which tested the hypothesis that there is a difference in perception of the „blue” and the „red” competitor („red” competitor seems more redoubtable and dangerous to the opponent). In the context of the research, we may cautiously claim that the colour of sportswear may influence the perception of the opponent in a sports battle. The results are on a trend level, however, and reflect only the assumed results’ structure (the colour of T- shirts only influenced the evaluation of the competitors’ bravery and aggressiveness, with no changes in the perception of their technical and physical skills).

Police personnel encounter stressful and unpleasant situations that could affect their mental health and also their leadership styles. The study examines the role of normal and pathological traits in police leader’s behaviour. The sample consists of 123 respondents, aged between 27 and 56 years, in different managerial positions in the Romanian Police. They completed MMPI-2, NEO PI R and Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire XII. Factor analysis revealed that the 12 dimensions of LBDQ might be reduced to three factors that would constitute leadership styles in a police organization. We performed two hierarchical regression analyses, with LBDQ’s three factors as dependent variables and the Five Factor Model as independent variables. We used NEO PI R as a normal FFM measure and MMPI-2 as a clinical FFM measure and analysed their relation with police leaders’ behaviour. The results show that both normal and pathological scales account for the variance of the leadership styles, but the normal FFM measure explain more of the police leadership variance.

key words: police leadership, personality, LBDQ, NEO PI R, MMPI-2

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2007, 1, 5, p. 97-111

Ineta LukaDevelopment of Students’ Intercultural Competence at the Tertiary Level

Abstract:

The research deals with the development of students’ intercultural competence as an integrative part of English for Special Purposes (ESP) competence. The aim of the research is to develop tourism students’ intercultural competence in ESP studies. The target study group consists of nine students of the Faculty of International Tourism of the School of Business Administration Turiba, Latvia. The following research methods were used: analysis of theoretical literature and sources, data collection methods (students’ self evaluation, students’ observations, students’ tests and teachers’ interviews), and quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods. The empirical study was conducted from 2003 to 2006. The results of the research showed a strong link between students’ intercultural competence and language competence. The author of the study offers proposals on how to develop students’ intercultural competence within language lessons.

Ieva RudzinskaProblems of Preparedness for Taking Tests and a Self-assessment, based on the example of a Sports English study course

Abstract:

The comparison of students’ preparedness for taking tests in the Latvian Academy of Sport Education and another higher education institution (HEI) in Latvia is based on the determination of students’ self-esteem, will-power, emotional stability and anxiety. Another comparative study – that of first-year students’ self-assessment skills in two other Latvian HEIs – Latvian Academy of Sport Education and Ventspils HEI - reveals that students tend to over- evaluate or under-evaluate their competence in ESP - English for Special Purposes.

Year: 2006

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2006, 1, 4, p. 7-28

Agnieszka Widera-WysoczańskaIncest Risk Factors in the Family: a Qualitative Study

Abstract:

This article describes a qualitative clinical investigation of the familial factors which could increase the danger of sexual abuse of daughters in Polish families where the active perpetrators are related to the child. The author’s clinical experience and the results of random studies (carried out on a group of 161 people with higher education) formed the basis of seeking answers to questions sought focused on a) the rules, roles, relationships, and beliefs existing in the victims’ incestuous families,b) the investigated women’s perceptions of their mothers’ maternal attitudes, and how the investigated women experienced themselves as mothers. Finally, c) the psychological treatment of persons from families with transmitted incest features.

key words: sexual abusing, incest risk

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2006, 1, 4, p. 29-38

Joanna Szeliga-Lewińska, Alina WilkowskaPerceiving self-dissimilarity, the divergence between self-real and self-ideal in the structure of the world in patients with depression and their relation to the emotional style of coping with stress. A preliminary study

Abstract:

In our preliminary study we analyzed the structure of the world, self-esteem, based on differences of self–structure (self-real and self–ideal) in depressed patients and compared them with a healthy control group. The individual structure of the world defines our actions and the choosing of strategies to cope with difficult situations. The way a person deals with stress seems to play some role in the pathogenesis of depression.
Objective. The aim of this preliminary study was to look for specific features of the construct system in patients with depressive episodes and the patients’ relation to the style of coping with stress.
Methods. The method of describing an individual structure of the world and cognitive constructs which determine it, is the Repertory Grid Test (Fransella, Bannister,1977). The style of coping with stress was measured using the Polish version of Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) (Szczepaniak, Strelau, Wrześniewski, 1996). The constructs and the style of coping with stress were examined in a group of patients with the diagnosis of recurrent depressive disorder (n =15), and subsequently they were compared with normal controls of the general population (n=15).
Results. Patients with depression perceived themselves as different from other people. In comparison to healthy controls they described themselves as worthless and pessimistic. Their self–real differs from self-ideal to a greater extent. They choose the emotional style of coping with stress. Factor analysis shows an oversimplified view of the world in the depressed group. The schema “enemy-friendly” was spontaneously evoked by almost all depressive patients. Nobody from the control group evoked this construct.
Conclusions. Rigid and poor construction of the world, dissimilar and negative perception of themselves and a pessimistic attitude of patients with a recurrent depressive episode are related to their emotional style of coping with stress.

key words: depression; construct; construct system (construction system of the world); Repertory Grid; the style of coping with stress

The study was focused on relationship between personality and conflict management styles using both, person-centred and variable-centred, models. The synergy of this points of view allowed to understand studied problem deeper and more complex. It was hypothesized that, using nomothetic model, Big Five personality factors should correlate with five management styles, developed by Afzalur Rahim in Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory (ROCI II). Moreover, using idiomatic model, there should be correlation between main personality prototypes and conflict management styles confirm and complement to result of nomothetic analysis. In order to verify this hypothesis Polish version of ROCI II was prepared for this research and correlations between five conflict styles and five personality factors (assessed by NEO-FFI) questionnaire) were calculated. The results indicate that each conflict style is specifically related to Big Five personality traits and conflict management styles create bindings distinctive for each prototype.

The psychological profile of the research group was analysed on the grounds of Ch. Koch’s Tree Drawing Test and it was described in the following categories: sense of security, attitude to the environment, attitude to oneself, and attitude to the somatic sphere and emotional sphere, pessimism, sense of threat, feeling of outer pressure, extraverion, and introversion. The research results show that there are significant disorders of a sense of security among the examined individuals; their attention is concentrated unilaterally either in the somatic or emotional sphere. The group also suffered from a deep sense of outside pressure and threat.

Wiesław ŚlósarzSexual Dysfunctions Therapy. A Short Guide for Psychologists

Abstract:

This paper is a short guide for psychologists working with sexual dysfunctional patients. The author concentrates on two main subjects: an awareness of applied methods of treatment, and distinguishing organic and functional origins of problems declared by patients looking for help.

key words: sexual dysfunction, therapy

Polish Journal of Applied Psychology 2006, 1, 4, p. 81-90

Anita StefańskaUsing Theatrical Activities in the Process of Developing a Sense of Dignity Among Youth with Slight Mental Disabilities

Abstract:

The research project conducted in 2003/2004 by Anita Stefańska aimed at defining the effectiveness of theatrical activities in the process of developing a sense of dignity among slightly mentally disabled youth. The theatrical activities were based on a set of different activities which were repeated in a spiral cycle. In the research 21 pupils took part, who were selected from special classes at the Ostrów Wielkopolski vocational school.
The author assumed that a sense of dignity is connected with the evaluation of certain types of behavior, which result from the child’s will to realize some internal ethical norms leading to their undertaking certain activities (verbal or non-verbal) in situations with moral dilemmas. She assumed that the development of a sense of dignity depends on two factors: the first is the level of recognizing the social situation in which a moral status of the person is violated, and the second is the system of personal values. As the sense of dignity, she considers the relatively permanent and inseparable quality of autonomous human beings which enables them to use their minds to judge what is right and what is wrong, and react according to it. The specific structure of the theatrical activities should allow the child to show the core and range of these behaviors appearing in reality.
To achieve her research aim, she directed the theatrical activities so as to support the development of the subject’s abilities to understand and differentiate between dignified and undignified behaviors, as well as to plan their own actions with a sense of dignity according to their own system of values. To realize this aim the following actions, among others, were undertaken:
– Creating the possibility to behave with dignity, to present their own opinion and thoughts about the situation of moral choice, thus showing their personal values, sup- ported by real actions;
– Strivingtoactivatepersonaldignifiedbehaviorbyorganizingspecialtheatricalforms, co-creating these behaviors in scenic solutions;
– Creating straightforward plots for a performance, clear for the participants and accepted by them;
– Building strong personal relations among theatrical team members in a given task situation (responsibility for their own role and for the team, accepting the obstacles, difficulties, and feelings of others, ability to speak and listen to others).
Seven months of work resulted in the creation of a performance based on an improvised dramatization, in which each of its participants used different verbal artistic means to independently present their attitude towards the problematic situation. They gave their own opinions about the given situation, revealed their subjective attitude towards certain values, and finally found justification for their own choices.
The stages of realization of the performance included: practicing the general theatrical creativity, improvisations as a phase of preparation for creating certain roles, the analysis of content of tasks, working on building the scenic creations and real scenes, and realization of separate scenes as a whole. The performance consisted of eight pantomimic and scenic parts: The Lie, The Admission of a mistake, Defending one’s own way of reasoning despite others’ contrary opinions, Loyalty to others, Defending somebody in need, Flattery for one’s own profit, Boasting, and Acceptance of being humiliated.
In theatrical work an important issue is to define the circumstances arising from the performance and its subject matter. Searching and elaborating the artistic concept is a cumulative result of such factors as: performers’ emotions, problems, needs, their life experience, situation and personal relations, all of which have a significant influence on the final shape of the performance arising in a common creative process. The plot of the performance often changed under the performers’ authentic feelings created on the spur of the moment.
During the exercises the participants revealed some creativity in action, and discovered the importance of cooperation. The exercises had a positive influence on their emotions connected with kinesthetic experiences, and helped them to release stress and improve attention.
As a result of the research it was proved that a sense of dignity can be shaped and developed thanks to theatrical activities as shown by the data’s quantitative analysis.

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